Postpublished at 08:18 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2015
Install laps done, a quick return to the pits for a chat with the engineers and the cars are heading back out.
Summary
Grosjean fastest on final day
Alonso crashes midway through final day
McLaren driver airlifted to hospital
Team confirm Alonso is "uninjured"
Postpublished at 08:18 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2015
Postpublished at 08:17 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2015
Image source, MercedesMercedes:, external Vamos Nico Rosberg!
Postpublished at 08:15 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2015
Image source, LotusLotus:, external Cold, but lovely sunshine basking the circuit for Romain Grosjean's install.
Postpublished at 08:13 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2015
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer"Button continued: 'We are not going have a race-winning car at the first race but we might at the last race. You are going to see big improvements from us. We are all quite interested to see what this car can do when we are at full power and have done some set-up work because it has a lot of potential but it is very difficult extract right now.'"
Postpublished at 08:13 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2015
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer"Jenson Button has - so far - had the worst of the unreliability at McLaren, although Fernando Alonso is not exactly brimming with mileage either. It seems a proper fix for the hybrid system seal problem that hit the team again on Saturday is still some way away and both drivers are likely to spend a fair bit of time in the pits on Sunday. 'I don't think we'll be doing 150 laps,' Button said. But there is a confidence that once the problems with the engine can be solved, this is a good car, unlike those of 2013 and '14.
"'We're not in for another tough season,' Button said. That's definitely not the case but whether we are ready for the first race is another question. The last two years we just weren't quick enough, whereas now everyone else out there has so much experience with these power units and Honda doesn't so it looks worse than it is. There are problems we need to solve, and we will, and hope the next test is good in terms of mileage so we can feel confident going into the first race."
Postpublished at 08:12 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2015
The "beautiful day" I mentioned in my opening entry refers to the comment made by Fernando Alonso after Friday's testing, when the Spaniard completed 59 laps - the most McLaren have managed in a single day of testing so far.
"It has been a beautiful day, driving the car and exploring some of the potential," he said.
"Obviously we are running with some limitations still on the engine and full power etc, but definitely the car felt better than Jerez."
Postpublished at 08:08 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2015
Image source, Honda RacingHonda Racing F1:, external Last day of test 2, time to give the power unit a final run with more testing. Stability is the main focus for today.
Postpublished at 08:08 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2015
No messing about from today's drivers as Nico Hulkenberg heads out for the first time in testing, with Daniil Kvyat, Nico Rosberg and Felipe Nasr in close company. Just waiting on McLaren.
Postpublished at 08:05 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2015
F1 journalist Dan Knutson in Barcelona: "A nice, sunny Sunday. The air temperature is 7.3 degrees Centigrade, and the track temperature is 11.1 degrees Centigrade."
Today's line-uppublished at 08:04 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2015
Here's who is scheduled to run today:
Mercedes: Nico Rosberg
Red Bull: Daniil Kvyat
Williams: Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas
Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel
McLaren: Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button
Lotus: Romain Grosjean
Toro Rosso: Carlos Sainz
Sauber: Felipe Nasr
Force India: Nico Hulkenberg
Go! Go! Go!published at 08:04 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2015
The circuit is open and out go Valtteri Bottas, Romain Grosjean, Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel, who might be a little more tentative on his early foray on to the track after spinning yesterday.
Postpublished at 08:00 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2015
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer"McLaren have changed their plans for the final day of this test following their reliability problems on Saturday. The schedule had been for Fernando Alonso to do all the driving on Sunday, but the lack of mileage achieved by Jenson Button over Thursday and Saturday - a total of 33 laps over two days, compared with the 59 Alonso did on Friday - has forced a rethink. A spokeswoman said: 'We wanted to have balanced feedback from the drivers, thus we needed to give them the chance of having equal mileage.'"
Button back in the seatpublished at 08:00 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2015
Image source, McLarenJenson Button may have spent more time sitting in the McLaren garage than he has in the car in Barcelona, but he gets another chance today as the team confirms, external the Briton and Fernando Alonso will be sharing testing duties. Alonso is out in the morning, with Button taking over in the afternoon.
Postpublished at 07:59 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2015
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer"Not for the first time this winter, McLaren start a day's testing in desperate need of a good run. And the longer their troubles continue, the more desperate that need gets. Saturday was another terrible disappointment from the team, as a newly redesigned part fitted to the Honda engine to fix a previous failure itself broke within just a few laps. The part - a seal in the hybrid system - has been re-designed for a third time and Honda and McLaren will have everything crossed that this time it has worked, and they can end this penultimate test with a decent day's running."
Time for another beautiful day?published at 07:55 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2015
Just 24 laps completed...
Image source, Getty Images...and the slowest driver on show...
Image source, Getty Images...it has been a frustrating, and potentially worrying, couple of days of testing for Jenson Button and McLaren in Barcelona.
Image source, Getty ImagesBut will today prove to be a "beautiful day"?